Definition of Beauty
by Quiet Librarian
Summary: How would you define the word 'beauty? Try asking the people around you. Their answers won't be the same. [One-shot] [Not primarily focused on the characters that are listed]


**Definition of Beauty**  
Quiet Librarian  
Hetalia: Axis Powers is not mine.

* * *

_**How would you define the word 'beauty'? Try asking the people around you.**_

* * *

"Sssshh! Listen!" a woman approached her friend as she put her palms around her friend's ears.

"I just got this liquid, and it'll make your eyes more beautiful!" she said as she twirled a small vial with a suspicious liquid inside it.

"What? How?" the another woman asked curious expression. She looked at the vial, examining every surface of it.

"It would make your eyes more...'seductive', I say. Try it! It works on me!" the woman smiled.

"Wow! For sure? Thanks!"

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.

.

The woman grabbed the vial and opened it. Inside the vial, the suspicious-looking liquid reflects her eyes. She then looked at the mirror.

Her eyes wasn't that beautiful, she thought. It was rather large and near to each other. It looked unattractive, boring, and give the vibe of being sleepy and weak, or at least that's what she thought.

_"Beauty is everything, without it, you won't get your man of destiny."_ her friends used to say.

_"Try it! It works on me!"_ her friends said.

She grabbed the vial. Yes. This is what she needed. To look pretty.

She tried to push the liquid out of the vial by shaking it. She aimed the lips of the vial to her left eye. One drop of liquid started to get out.

Slowly, it entered the woman's eyes.

It was rather an unpleasant sensation. It hurts her eye, and she felt a little dizzy and blurry.

She looked at the mirror.

It was right. Her pupils got a little bit larger, and more beautiful, or at least that what she thought.

She felt a horde of excitement inside her. Yes, this is what she is looking for. This is what she needs.

She dropped the liquid to her right eye. Just one drop.

It turned to be similar as her left. Beautiful, or at least that what she thought.

Maybe another drop for both eye? Maybe another...another...

After she felt enough, she placed the vial inside her robe. Strange. Reaching the pocket of her robe seemed to be very hard. It is really blurry.

Oh well, she did sleep late last night. A little rest on the bed, perhaps.

She walked to her bedroom, but she lost coordination and balance. Oh, dear, she is really sleepy, isn't she?

Yes, that's what she thought.

And she was wrong. Terribly wrong.

She collapsed to the hard wood flooring, and the vial is broken to pieces. The small pieces of the vial became the silent witness of her death, as her heart stopped beating.

She is a corpse, and she has her "beautiful" eyes no longer.

* * *

"Sir Arthur, it was reported that there were two cases of death this time."

"Explain," Arthur Kirkland glared to the assistant's eyes sharply through his monocle.

"Both cases seemed to be poisoning. And to think the culprit is the same. The culprit is Deadly Nightshade."

Arthur Kirkland was silent for a moment. He flipped the page of books as he fixed his monocle.

"Hmm...Deadly Nightshade. Belladona. _Solanaceae_," Arthur quietly whispered.

"Pupil dilation. Difficulty of breathing. Loss of balance. Dizziness. Death," he read word per word with a great emphasis.

"Sir, I think both woman has the desire of having beautiful pair of eyes. Thus, they use the Belladonna to dilate their pupils, beautifying it."

"Well, if it's true, then I must say they're completely hopeless."

The room was silent for almost a minute.

"After all, who likes dilated pupils? They make someone look like complete idiot," said Arthur almost jokingly (or sarcastically, perhaps) as he closed his books with a loud sound and fixed his ever-uncomfortable monocle.

* * *

**_"Hmm...I think I prefer slant eyes to large ones. Slant eyes gives a cuter look, I think."_**

**_"Ooh... I see. But I think I prefer large, round eyes. They're cuter for me."_**

* * *

_"One white can cover up three ugliness."_

That's what her grandma and her mother used to say. Everyday. White skin is a must.

Everyday, she looked at her skin in front of the broken mirror. Then, she saw that her skin was not as beautiful as those models and idols on TV, who has flawless, smooth, bright, white skin. Hers are tan, and was rather course in the leg area.

Try to forget it, she tried watching TV. Only to find a certain commercial.

The commercial showed a girl with a sleeveless dress with silk around her. She smiled so beautifully, as her skin glowed. Every inch of her exposed skin is perfect. No red bumps, dark spots, acne scars. Nothing. Just pure white skin.

Why can't she have that skin? Why should she have a tan, coarse skin. As her jealousy and frustration consumed her, tears started to drop to her cheek. Little she knew that it was all media's play.

.

.

.

"Skin whitening?"

"Yes, this topical cream works for me! Try it!"

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.

.

The girl rushed to her room, carrying a cylinder-shaped container that seemed to be filled with a somewhat pink-looking cream.

Yes, this is all she wanted. A product that will make her skin finer. Like those perfect skin models have.

She opened the container, only to find a soft-looking cream inside it, that gleamed teasingly and mischievously.

She smelled the cream. It smelled nice.

It will work on her skin. It will. She started applying it to her less-exposed area first, rubbing it to her skin excitedly as the cream seep slowly to her skin's pores.

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.

.

Whitening Cream _  
To make your skin whiter and shine.

ingredients:

..  
..

_**benzene-1,4-diol**_ [C6H4(OH)2]

* * *

"What now, aru?"

"There has been a wild cases of skin cancer, xiānshēng. It has many causes, but one that caught my attention is this..."

The person gave a piece of paper to Yao.

"_Hm...Hydroquinone, also known as benzene-1,4-diol, is a substance that is often used in skin lightening products._" Yao read the writings on the paper as he bent slightly.

"I see nothing wrong with that, aru."

"Xiānshēng, please read until it is finished."

Yao proceeded to read the rest of the paragraph.

"_Hydroquinone is carcinogenic, means it has cancer-causing properties. It works by reducing your melanin, causing your skin to be lighter, however, reduce your resistance to sunlight._" Yao's reading tone changed drastically, until the point he couldn't even speak. The rest of the paragraph was too excruciating to read, and who thought it was a good idea to insert those horrendous images to this document?

"Why-why would this horrendous substance used in the medical products industry?" Yao's eyes was full of horror and shock.

"Well, there hasn't been a prohibition about it."

"Prohibit it as soon as possible," said Yao as he bit his nail nervously.

Both of them was silent, only accompanied by the raging wind who tried to penetrate the window.

"I seriously don't understand the white skin obsession in my country, aru. Why does this have to happen, aru?" Yao rubbed his eyes in exasperation. The world and China had enough problems already without those freaking dangerous aesthetically-enhancing products.

"**One white covers up three ugliness**," Yao's secretary said, "Our ancestors used to said that."

"Just why do they use ridiculous old sayings as a compass of their lives, aru. This is just ridiculous, aru."

"Well, the entertainment industry that existed promotes fine skin every chance they got. This caused people lust over those skin, hoping to make them look attractive. Little they know, that it is a mixture of lighting, make-up, and photo editor. Make up covers up those open pores and blemishes, lighting make people's skin appear as soft, white, and shiny, and photo editor would complete all of it."

"Funny, isn't it." The secretary chuckled a bit. "They envy over make-up, lighting, and photo editor."

"No, that's not funny."

The Chinese man took a brush, dipped it in a black ink container in front of him, and scribed over the paper his secretary gave him.

"It is called 可怜 [pitiful]."

* * *

_**"Well, I prefer tan skin. It looked sexy and sweet."**_

* * *

South Korea is country with a very high technology. Its rich cultures and music industry has also invaded other Asian country, and its effect are starting to reach America too.

But this country is also famous for its extreme beauty standards.

Long nose bridge. Milky skin. V-shaped jaw. S-line. Skinny legs.

Beauty has almost conquered relationships. And it conquered this girl too.

This girl waited at the chair nervously, but excitedly. Finally, her friends wouldn't bully her because she's chubby. With the power of plastic surgery, she'll become pretty and accepted.

Or at least that's what she thought.

"Miss?"

She glanced at the nurse behind her.

"Let's get to the surgery room."

She nodded happily.

Yes, this is what she wants. A V-shaped jaw. An egg-shaped face. A beautiful face structure that is desired by men.

Or at least that's what she thought.

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.

* * *

"Seonsaengnim, here's the suicide report. It has listed the suicide cases that had happened this week in Seoul district."

"Da-ze~ thank you," said Yong Soo as he flipped those papers. It was always a sad and tragic thing when people done suicide, but because the suicide rates in his country is so high, he was rather used to it. But still, he couldn't stand picturing the image of someone doing suicide. That's just too painful. Maybe he needs to fix his school system or something, so teenagers won't do suicide so often.

"Hmm...wait a minute, da-ze~! What does 'medical malpractice' means?" Yong Soo stared at the list with curiosity.

"Oh, that case? The victim of suicide suffered from a malpractice of jaw surgery."

"Oh dear..." South Korea squinted his eyes. "That's cruel...why did she have to had jaw surgery? It is dental problems?"

"No, it's for aesthetic purposes. You know that girls these days hunt over V-shaped jaws..."

"That's a pity, da-ze~! What kind of malpractice is it? It is bad? I think malpractice could be fixed..."

"Maybe it could, but the doctor, whom had been punished, said that he accidentally broke the nerves and muscle tissue around the jaws, causing facial numbness and the inability to chew food. To fix it any further is dangerous."

Yong Soo trailed his fingers at the girl's photo. At that photo, she still hasn't had her surgery. Her jaw is still round.

"That's sad," said Yong Soo as he put the paper on his table."If only she knows that there's a lot of people; including me, favored a round, natural jaw, rather than surgically enhanced V-shaped jaw, da-ze~"

* * *

**_"Hm...I actually like a chubby face with a round jaw. It's very cute and lovable! And you'll just want to pinch it!"_**

* * *

**_Atropa belladonna_. Plastic surgery. Hydroquinone.**

**It is very interesting that people chase the thing called beauty.  
**

* * *

**beauty**

Pronunciation: /ˈbjuːti/

noun (plural beauties)

1. a quality that pleases the aesthetic sense.

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Sadly, the thing that you call aesthetic sense differs with a great complexity and variation.

I prefer rose to tulips.

I prefer round eyes to slant eyes.

I prefer dark skin to light skin.

I prefer flat nose to pointy nose.

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The thing you call beautiful are unappealing to others. The thing that didn't appeal you are called beautiful by others.

* * *

**"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."**

The End

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**_Author's Note:_**

**_Oh God I think I just I just exhausted myself. This takes three days, and it's just 2000 words. I'm as slow as ****._**

**_Again, this was only got read by me two times, so please excuse the grammar. I tried to contact my beta-reader but it's no use._**

**_Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated, flames are too ;) With my way of appreciating it, of course~_**

_**I'm inspired by my friends asking my 'type'. LOL, I don't understand. Then they explained that "types" are this and that and blah blah.**_

_**So I answered, " I have no type. I just like a person if I think she's attractive."**_

_**And some of them looked at my like I was a horror movie or something. XD LOL**_


End file.
